The Devil Within
by Deathglider003
Summary: A sinister plot is given out to a level 3 demon. As a viable location to execute his plans he chooses Roanapur. The citizens witness first hand what demons and devils truely are. Can Dante and his team help out Roanapur before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

The rain continued to come down during that hot summer day. It was out of the ordinary too because the whole time it was humid and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. With the sudden down pour of rain there were accidents all up along the highway. Lightning started to strike the antennas of the skyscrapers within Roanapur. One of the bolts came with great force, as if Zeus himself was pissed at the world. The bolt slammed into the power generators within downtown and blacked out 20 blocks of the city. Horns honked and people screamed and shout. Within a matter of minutes looting had started to begin and the alarms of convenient stores were sounding off. Throughout the chaos there was only one small light shinning within the 20 block black out. A light that could literally be seen from anywhere in the city that night. It was high up in the sky and in one of the skyscrapers continually being struck by lightning. The building itself was acting like a conductor and as the lightning hit the building a strange red aura surrounded the building. Again and again the lightning struck and aura grew to a hotter shade of red. Within seconds the building was fiery red. The rain dissolved as it hit the building from all angles. The clouds overhead opened up into a giant circle revealing the clear night sky. The lightning stopped but the rain didn't. Harder and harder the rain continued to drop from the sky. The dark black clouds roared with tremendous thunder. The thunder shook the ground and broke the windows within so many buildings. This thunder was unlike any thunder ever heard before man's ears. This thunder had to driven out of hell itself. Suddenly it became dead silent.

The rain ceased immediately as did the thunder. The building's hot red aura quickly faded back to its original color but the clouds remained dark and the circle in the sky singling out the building below stayed still. The lone light in that building started to grow brighter and brighter until it became a blinding white light. People on the ground covered their eyes from the light. As soon as it couldn't get any brighter it went black like someone flicked off the light switch. The people on the ground pondered at what could've happened to the light. As they turned their back to the skyscraper the thunder started up quickly as did the lightning and rain then the loudest boom was heard all across the island. The people turned around and viewed and hot red thick beam of light shoot out from the antenna on the building and into the sky. Following the beam of light a blinding white light came crashing down onto the building. The window that held the single light before strobe white and red as if the two were fighting each other. The red overpowered the white and in that instant the hot red aura came back engulfing the building itself. The window exploded and that entire level of the building exploded into flames. The flames and the explosion knocked everyone off their feet and tossed them like the insignificant beings they are. The dark clouds disappeared from the sky as quickly as they came in. Fire engines could be heard in the distance racing to the building to put out the fire but there was something strange about the fire. As it quickly exploded from the building it quickly sucked itself back in and burned brightly within the middle of the building. The people in the adjacent building viewed what was happening. The fire just vanished after that.

As the fire engines and police arrived at the scene. They scoured the entire area and sectioned off two blocks of the street. The firefighters exited their trucks and broke down the buildings doors with their axes and began their climb up to the level of the blown out building. The people in the adjacent building screamed and shouted at the police officers and fire fighters down below but their screams were unheard from their height. They saw something within that building that they should've never seen. As the firefighters opened the door the level they were on they viewed what the people in adjacent building saw. It was a small red glowing flame that was pulsating. It could've been described as a fiery orb but it wasn't that it was something much worse. One of the firefighters approached the orb cautiously.

"Easy there Jon," one of his buddies mentioned as the firefighter extended his arm to the orb.

The glow of the orb turned black instantaneously. Jon quickly retracted his hand and just stared at the orb. He moved in closer to it to get a better look at it. His hazel eyes met the pitch black orb.

"What...what is that?" Jon said to himself as he looked directly into the orb.

Jon viewed what could only be seen as a hooded and figure standing in front of his eyes. Jon wanted to move away from what he saw but he had no more control of his body. He wanted to scream but his vocal cords were no longer his own to control. The hooded figure within the orb walked closer to Jon. It extended its arm and opened what looked like his hand and immediately turned it into a fist.

The next words were heard by all of people who had seen the orb, "Gotcha," it said in a bellowing demonic voice.

Jon gained control of his body for an instant and he gripped his ears in pain. He let out a blood curdling scream.

His body levitated in the air and his spine bent backwards. "Oh my god!" one of the firefighters said in a panic.

Jon's eyes turned black, as black as that orb was. His body shook and convulsed. The orb's color soon faded back to the fiery red it was originally. Jon's body stopped convulsing and straightened out.

He extended his arm out towards his friends and in the same cold devilish words Jon heard the firefighters and the people in the adjacent building heard it as well, "Gotcha," it said.

Their bodies levitated off the ground and convulsed dramatically. Their eyes rolled back into their heads and the skin melted off their bones. The blood from the bodies didn't fall to the floor but hung in mid air like the bodies continuing to accumulate under the bodies. Screams could be heard from both buildings now. Screams of agony and unbearable pain that belonged only in hell itself. The bones snapped, twisted, and dislocated themselves from the body. Even though their bodies were dead the souls of the people could still feel the pain. It was as if their nerves were still intact throughout the process.

The police on the ground heard the screams and rushed both buildings. The building that the firefighters were in couldn't be entered. The men were flicked back like insects as soon as they touched the building. The police who entered the adjacent building climbed the stairs quickly and opened the door the room where the others were. They saw the skeletons of people that were in the building. They were still screaming and begging to die. The police officers dropped to their knees and cried blood. They clinched their eyes to stop themselves from viewing but their eyelids were ripped from their sockets. They screamed in pain and were forced to look onto the skeletons. Losing all ability to move their body they became limp. They tossed up against the wall and with inhuman strength. They felt small tiny daggers cut into their flesh and began cutting their muscles and intestines. From out of nowhere hooked chains sprang from the ground and latched onto their arms and legs and pulled them. The separate chains from the roof came down and burrowed into their faces and pulled them back. Excruciating pain was felt, it was pain that couldn't even be described as pain. The chains pulled tighter and tighter on their flesh until they couldn't pull no more without pulling off their flesh; and that's what it did. The flesh from their bodies were slurped like spaghetti into the ground and ceiling as were the chains. The once lively bodies of the officers were now bloodied corpses.

Jon's body was still levitating and screams still could be heard from down on the ground. The orb that Jon looked at had began a large vacuum sucking in everything that was in both buildings. The corpses of the officers and the screaming skeletons flew out of the building and into the building where Jon was. The officers below saw the unimaginable. The bodies were sucked into the orb at once. The concept of it being a small hole wasn't an issue. It lacking size wasn't the case nor the amount of bodies there were was it either. They all fit were sucked into the hole. The fiery orb then shot out from building and across Roanapur like a small comet. It landed off in the distant southern end of the island. Jon's body had taken what was needed of the people around him. Jon's body slowly came back down to the ground. The clothes that he had been wearing was burned off and he stood completely naked. He viewed his body for the first time and smiled. He moved his hands up his stomach and over his head getting a firm grasp on what he was in.

"Free at last," he said as he took a big whiff of the air around him.

His first step in long time and this time the ground beneath him was cold. "Simply amazing," he uttered.

As he took another step, then all consciousness left his body and he blacked out dropping to the ground. The blood that was once hovering landed on top of him and rushed out over the open sides of the building dripping down onto the lower levels and the police below.

[24hrs later...]

Dreaming the dreams that he never had before. It was as if a new set of memories was installed into his brain. Visions of unthinkable creatures devouring bodies of flesh. Twisted sights of human on human cruelty. There were sounds of screaming in the distance. The shouts of god was taken in vain more times to count. Men and women cried out for help from someone but their pleas went out onto deafened ears. Jon stood watched on the plateau looking from above at the gruesome scene below him. He wanted to help but the heavy chains restricted him from moving off the plateau.

The ground started to tremble beneath him. Jon tried to run but in each direction there wasn't anywhere to go. From the middle of the plateau arose a stone throne. The throne had skull carvings made along the base of it. The seat itself was soaked in the buckets of blood and the backside was made out of human skeletal remains. Jon didn't know what to do. He didn't want to sit so he tried yanking the chains from the ground but it wasn't no use. They were far too heavy and strong to do anything with. He turned his back on the throne and continued to look around the plateau for something to free himself with.

As the search continued he heard a familiar voice bellow from the sky above him. "You aren't going anywhere Jon," it said.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Jon shouted up at the sky.

There was no reply after those words. His heart started to race and he quickened his pace to find an instrument to get out of the chains. As he looked the rustling of the heavy chains perked up his ears. The chains slowly began to retract into the ground pulling Jon closer and closer to the throne. Jon resisted and pulled with all his might but every time he pulled away the chains would become searing hot and burned his wrists. Nevertheless he struggled continuously every so often screaming from the heat burning on his flesh. Soon the chains had pulled him closer the throne, close enough that he couldn't walk away from it. The sound of a locking mechanism was heard from the ground below.

"Sit down!" the voice ordered. The chains yanked Jon down onto the seat.

As Jon made himself comfortable he felt a sinking sensation within him. It felt mysterious to him but somewhat comforting. He then realized that this sensation wasn't in his mind but it was actually happening. The throne had begun to swallow him whole, rear first. It was as if he had sat in quicksand. An evil laugh was heard from the sky. Jon wasn't going to be taken without a fight. He pushed himself up on the hand rails of the chair making to harder for the chair to swallow.

A familiar came from the sky and it wasn't the evil voice; this voice was the that of his wife. "Jon, don't die on me," she said. He could hear her sobbing as if he was right next to her.

"I'm not going to die, I'm not going to die," he repeated himself. "Jon..." the evil voice beckoned his name.

"She sure is beautiful Jon. I'll make sure to treat her well Jon," the voice said devilishly and followed with a evil laugh.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" he screamed. The sky above him became darkened quickly. Lightning and thunder roared shaking the plateau and struck the ground near him.

"You dare give me orders?" the voice bellowed deeply. Then a force like no other hit Jon's chest and forced him into the throne. It swallowed Jon up as if he never struggled at all.

"Goodbye Jon," the voice said.

His eyes began to flutter as he started to wake from the nightmare he was in.

"Doctor, I think he's waking up," the wife said as she went running out of the room to find the nearest doctor.

He opened his eyes slowly. He could hear the monotonous sound the heart monitor beeping in the back. He turned his head and finally opened his eyes slowly. His once blue eyes had turned grey. The dark grey eyes looked upon a mirror facing his bed. He saw what he hadn't seen in over a 100,000 years, flesh. Jon laughed uncontrollably as he was looking all over his body. The body that was once Jon Perkins, husband to Tracy Perkins, son to Maxwell Perkins and Debbie Perkins now belonged to Terak, level 3 of 5 Demons.

Tracy came running back into the room with doctors in tow. She looked at the what was the body of Jon laughing at himself in the mirror as he sat in bed. The doctor and nurses came running into the room and tried to restrain Jon from getting out from the bed.

"Easy Jon, you just went through a lot. It's best not to move," the doctor advised.

Terak struggled as the two nurses that entered the room tried to restrain him. "Hold him down for some anesthetic," the doctor said as he prepped the syringe.

"Get the fuck off me!" Terak said as he pushed one of the nurses off him. The nurse went flying off Terak and into a wall falling face first onto the ground.

The doctor rushed over to the IV and started to administer the anesthetic. Blood squirted out from Terak's arm as he ripped the IV from his vein and shoved it into the other nurses neck. The doctor immediately backed away and called in the guards. Two hospital guards came rushing into the room.

"Restrain him!" the doctor yelled as he ran out the room to get more help. Terak pushed himself out of bed and hopped out of to the floor.

The guards took a hold of each of Terak's arm and held him in place. Terak laughed a bit then threw one of the guards out the window. He screamed on the down smacking right on top of an ambulance. With a free arm Terak reached back and threw a punch right at the other guards face taking off half his head. Tracy screamed at the sight of Jon doing these unspeakable acts with ease. Blood gushed onto Terak's fist and arm as the body slowly dropped to its knees. He slung his arm down quickly flinging off the brain matter and blood on his hand. His strength was unimaginable yet his powers did not fully recover yet. Terak walked to where his clothes were and noticed Tracy curled up in the fetus position praying. Her whimpering cries were heard all the way down the hallway.

"You aren't my Jon," she said, her body trembling.

"Jon died a very bad death, but I did manage to thank him for this great new body," Terak said as he moved closer to her.

"God will..." Tracy began to say but was cut off by Terak.

"God will what? Stop me? Bullshit, God could care less about a me. He has his own problems to deal with," Terak spoke as if he knew God personally. "The one you call God is nothing more than a hypocrite. The only thing that divides us from him and his army is location. God, tch! whatever," Terak said as he turned his back to her and began putting on his clothes.

Terak looked over what Jon had to wear but found nothing that suited him. He laughed at the sense that he was now choosy on what he could wear. Wearing the black cloak for all those years and now being given the choice to choose what to wear made him laugh. From out of nowhere he conjured up a 3 piece charcoal black suit with crimson red tie and Italian leather shoes. The clothes magically appeared on him. He walked towards the mirror and checked himself out.

"Boy, looks sure do make a difference. These people won't know what hit them," he said with a smile as he looked at the mirror.

He snapped his fingers and from thin air appeared a black comb in which in gently slicked back his brown hair. He put the comb in his pockets then clapped his hands twice. His hands were now covered with black gloves.

"I can't go around touching people with bare hands now can I?" he asked Tracy rhetorically.

He turned to her and walked picked her up by her blouse effortlessly. As he held her in the air he took one good look at her and said his final words "For a human, Jon did have decent taste in women," he said as he delivered what was thought to be death blow.

The fist collided into a whitish blue aura around Tracy. The collision made the entire floor shake as if there was an earthquake. He pulled back his arm and threw another punch but once again it was knocked aside. Terak then saw what was blocking his hits. It was a silver necklace with a cross attached to it. Tracy screamed for help and as he voice reached higher the aura around her body shot out a powerful force that sent Terak flying through the rooms wall and counter outside. Tracy fell to the ground and clinched her necklace. Something in her told her to get up immediately and run as far away as possible, so she did.

The fire alarms went off as several fires ignited from Terak's stumble. He pushed himself up and dusted off his suit and looked around. The people in the hospital were sprinting every which way. Those that could walk were hopping to the nearest exit. He laughed at the sight and levitated into the air. Just like before the people around Terak levitated and were sucked dry of life. This time he left their blood and just took their souls. He descended back to the ground and found the closest exit and made his way to the lobby of the building.

Police and firemen surrounded the building. Their trucks were flashing red and blue lights illuminating the evening sky. As Terak exited the stairwell and entered the lobby firemen snagged him up and helped him outside. Not knowing what was going on he reached for one of the firemen's axe and yanked it from his hands and bludgeoned one of them over the head with it. The fireman collapsed from the impact. The others turned around and saw their fallen partner and went to his aid but were thrown back by an incredible force that came from Terak's palm.

"It's coming back," he said as he tossed the firemen out the lobby doors like rag dolls.

The police pulled their guns and stood behind their cars and aimed for Terak. A news reporter and her cameraman were filming the situation.

"Put the axe down and lie down on your stomach," the police Sergeant ordered.

Terak looked at them and just shook his head in amusement. He crouched down to the floor as if he was lying down but took his arm back and with an underarm throw he flung the axe in a spiraling motion at the Sergeant. The axe impaled the Sergeant and threw him back into the air pinning himself against a concrete pillar killing him. The police fired upon Terak. The bullets pierced his skin and made him flinch every so often but did nothing to him overall. He walked outside calmly and looked around at the chaos that was ensuing around him. A shotgun blast stunned him a bit then made him slightly annoyed. He dropped his hands to his sides and faced his palms up. He curled and tightened his fingers and summoned the hellish hooks from the ground itself. The hooks leaped out from the ground like snakes and burrowed themselves into the officers flesh and muscle. Screams of grown men echoed the city streets. The reporter watched in fear as the officers were torn apart by the chains or swallowed into the earth itself. Blood and limbs were all that was left from the chains. Terak took a look at the reporter and cameraman and smiled. Within that devilish smile and a blink of an eye he vanished.

[Lagoon office, other side of town]

As evening turned to night Revy and Dutch sat in the living room watching the television while Rock finished up preparations on the phone for their next job. Benny was quietly making himself something to eat when he accidentally jabbed himself with the knife.

"Shit!" he yelped as he held his finger in pain.

"What happen?" Rock asked.

"The knife stabbed my damn finger," Benny said as he wrapped a towel around his hurt finger.

Rock put the phone on hold and got the first aid kit for Benny. Benny thanked him and got back bandaged himself up. Rock finished up the phone call and walked over to Dutch and started talking to him about the day's schedule.

"Shut up Rock, I can't hear the damn TV," Revy barked. Revy turned up the volume to hear what was going on.

"I never pictured you for current events type of person," Rock said as he saw the nightly news come on.

The anchorman was talking about what happened at the hospital earlier that day. He cautioned the viewers that the content was grotesque and to a bit overwhelming. Revy got in close to see what the video. The whole crew watched the video of the attack at the hospital. The reporter was talking about how the hospital had a fire go off on one of the floors but then was interrupted by gunfire by the police. The cameraman caught the intense firefight between them and one man. Then Revy saw the chains spring from the ground and grab a hold of the officers.

"Brutal," she commented.

Body parts were flying through the air and blood was gushing out from bodies. Men were dragged into holes in the ground while screaming in pain while others were torn apart. The reporter was crying as the scene of pain continued. The intense firefight went quiet. The cameraman focused in on the only man standing. He appeared to not care what had happened. He turned to the cameraman and smiled then disappeared.

The anchorman cut the video as it ended and told all viewers that any information on that man and his whereabouts would lead to a reward by the police and Roanapur government. He urged everyone to stay inside but if they were to go out, not to go out alone. Revy looked at Dutch and everyone else and saw their mouths hanging open.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" Dutch replied.

"A reward for catching this guy. We could really use that reward guys," Revy said.

"Revy has a point Dutch," Benny said.

"I suppose," Dutch said with hesitation. "Though I do feel uneasy about this. Not because of the man but because of the fact that every gunslinger, low life, and mob member will be out looking for this guy. What's going to happen when we all find him? Who claims the reward?" Dutch inquired.

"So that means we're in?" Revy asked.

"I guess so," Dutch said.

Revy jumped from her seat and ran to her room grabbing her cutlasses. Benny walked to his room and began searching the net for any type of information on the guy while Rock got on the phone and canceling and rearranging the schedule for that week. Dutch realized the hell they were getting themselves into but knew that if things got bad that would without a hesitation pull everyone out if it got too chaotic.

As the night went on, Roanapur became a bustling place of all types of sin. The citizens of the unsavory area of Roanapur were more concerned with the reward that government was offering of the assist and capture of the man only named as Jon Perkins. An innocence roamed the street frantically. She pushed her way through the crowds but out of exhaustion she fell to her knees. A man walked by her and helped her up from the street and sat her on the a chair. He ordered a glass of water for the lady. She snagged the class off the table as it was set down and started chugging the water as if she hadn't drank anything for days.

"Easy lady," a little girl said trying to get her to pace herself.

She finished the glass of water and took a breath.

"Thank you for your help but I can't stop, he's coming for me, I can feel he is," She said.

"Who's coming for you?" the little girl asked.

"My husband," she said.

One of the ladies with man laughed at the remark she made.

"No, he has the body of my husband but it's not him. I can't explain it, you'll think I'm crazy," she said.

"Tell us please, this sounds interesting," the little girl begged.

The woman was confused by the thought of a little girl want to know this information.

She began to speak she excused herself and introduced herself first.

"My name is Tracy, what's your name?" Tracy asked.

"My name is Patty. This is Trish and that's Lady, just Lady," Patty said with a smile.

"And I'm Dante," he said. Tracy looked at the group and saw that there was something more about them that what was just face.

Farther outside the city near a desolate beach Terak appeared where the he sensed the orb had been. He searched through the sands and for about an hour until he a whirlwind picked up the sand and turned it into a small dust devil. The sand flurried around Terak and made a face in front of him. It was one of the higher ups of the demon world.

"Do you know what kind of shit storm were dealing with down here?" the creature asked.

"I can imagine," Terak responded.

"Yeah, well you better not fail us. You were chosen out of the others because you showed potential. Don't let us be wrong about you," it mentioned.

"Don't worry, everything is going according to plan. The gate will soon be opened and my army shall clear out of the way for your castle. There are plenty of humans here that will make a good feast for my master," Terak explained.

"We have no need for thoughts of feasting. Get the damn gate open and complete your task!" the creature said in a loud outburst and vanished.

The sand scattered back onto the ground revealing the black orb. Terak picked up the orb with his hand and felt the power from within pulsing like a beating heart. The plans were moving in the direction he liked and knew the moment was approaching.


	2. Chapter 2

Terak brushed the sand off the pitch black orb and placed it within his inside jacket pocket. As he walked off the beach he realized that he had never gotten the chance to see what water felt like. He took off his socks and shoes and walked towards the ocean. His feet sunk in the sand as he walked. He wiggled his toes between the coarse sand and felt all too relaxed. As he got closer to the water he could feel the sand get cooler and cooler. Soon he was ankle deep within moist sand. The salty ocean brushed up against his lower legs. He closed his eyes and could hear the wind slowly blowing in the distance. A few gulls could be heard a few yards down the beach. The sound of crashing waves on water lulled him into a sense of relaxation that could never be reached back in his domain. As the water retracted off the beach he pulled his feet from the sand and walked back to where his shoes and socks were and put them back on. "_This place must not be touched when he comes,_" Terak said to himself as he disappeared off the beach.

Back within Roanapur Dante was talking to Tracy about her husband. He explained to her that it be typical for a man to not act like himself once in awhile. Tracy knew they wouldn't understand. She failed to give any information that would be relevant to them. She feared that no one would believe her so she kept her mouth shut. She shook Patty's hand and Dante's hand and thanked them for the water and went on her way to the authorities.

"Geez, Dante, do you think you could've been a bit nicer?" Patty asked.

"What was I suppose to say? The women was hurt because her husband wasn't acting like himself. I didn't blame her for that," Dante said as he pushed himself up from the chair. "Besides, were here to find this demon and collect our payment, not be a therapist," he said as he stretched.

"Was there any information on where to meet our contact?" Trish asked looking away from Dante.

"He said that there's a bar in town called Yellow Flag that he'll be at waiting for us," he replied. "He noted that it was in a rough side of town," Dante said looking a Patty.

"Hey! I can take care of myself Dante," she commented as she slug him in the thigh.

"Right..." Dante said nonchalantly.

The group made their way further downtown. They noticed that the scenery changed very slowly in the direction they walked. From normal high end clothing stores to lower income liquor stores. The streets became dirtier by each block they went down. They could hear the ocean as they kept walking. The people around them weren't as cheerful as some of the people were in uptown. Most shopkeepers backed out of their way and people walking on the sidewalk either bumped into them and swore at them or moved around them. Trish put her hand on Patty's shoulder and moved her in the middle of the group as they walked. Whistles, hoots, and hollers could be heard across the street as they passed certain bars and clubs.

They finally made it to Yellow Flag within the hour. Motorcycles were parked in front with several bikers shooting the breeze with each other. There were men on the deck smoking and drinking as well. Glances were exchanged with the group and the patrons outside. One of the grizzly looking bikers took it upon himself to introduce himself to Lady with a smack on the ass. Lady reached for her gun but was stopped by Trish who shook her solemnly.

"Damn, you do look good," The biker said as he scratched his beard. "Perhaps you can show me and the boys a good time, we promise not to hurt you...too much," the biker said. The smell of cheap booze and bad breath came right off him as he breathed in her scent.

"I can't promise the same," Lady said as she gave him a right hook into his jaw knocking him out.

His buddies by the bikes all laughed him when he got knocked out. The group walked inside and saw it filled with men that killed for a living. In pockets of the bar there were men who were playing cards and swearing up a storm. On the other end of the bar there were people drinking and talking to the whores that dealt out of the brothel upstairs. There was broken glass on the ground and their feet stuck to the ground as they walked because of spilt liquor. The smell of smoke was thick within the air and people were shouting at the bartender to get their order out. Dante walked up to the bar and shouted out that he was meeting someone here. His voice was drowned out by everything else in the room. A man tugged on Dante's jacket to get his attention. Dante saw it was a black man wearing dark shaded sunglasses. He pointed to the corner where people out of town usually met. Dante nodded and gave a hand single to the girls to meet over in the corner.

"That's not like you to help people from out town Dutch," Revy said.

"It was just one man looking for someone. I didn't want him to add to the noise already in here," Dutch replied. "Did you see some on the equipment they were carrying?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm sure it wasn't that impressive," Revy said as she took a shot.

Dutch didn't bother saying anything else as he turned back around to the bar. Dante found the man in the corner waiting for them. They took a seat around the table and started talking about what was going on.

"There's been a influx of demon activity within the other realm. Lot of lower levels preparing for something big. It seems that there might be a level 3 here in this city," the contact said.

"I haven't dealt with a level 3 in awhile," Dante replied.

"This is one not to be taken lightly. It is different from the others. From what I saw it is capable of thinking for itself. I think it's planning on trying to obtain a higher level," he said. "If it manages to do that then things might get a bit extreme here," he finished.

"Listen, we've dealt with all 5 levels before. We aren't rookies at this. Just give us the damn information and we'll handle it," Lady blurted out before Dante could respond.

Dante just looked at Lady as she stared down the informant. The informant started to break out in a small sweat and then nodded his head in agreement. They got up from the table and headed for the door. As the approached the exit; the doors swung open from the outside. The group of bikers that harassed Lady and Trish were standing before them, in the way of their exit. The knocked out biker was awake and pissed at what had happen to him before. He had his bandana pressed up against his swollen bloodied mouth. He threw the handkerchief at Dante's feet.

"What's a matter little boy? Did you just get your ass handed to you by little ol' me?" Lady said taunting the biker.

"You've got a lot of guts bitch. You may be new around here but I am not going to make the exception of going easy on you. I'm going to kick your boyfriends ass right now and then me and my boys here are going to work you and this other bitch over," The biker said. "Who knows, we may just have our way with that little girl too," he said as he wrapped the chain from his jacket around his fists.

Dante backed out the way of the man and motioned he didn't want any part of this fight. He grabbed Patties hand and dragged her to the side with him.

"You can have your way with these two but don't even think about touching her," Dante said as he held her hand.

"Thanks a lot Dante," Trish said.

"A real gentleman," Lady chimed in.

"Hey, you picked this fight, not me. We'll be waiting outside," Dante as he dragged Patty out with her pleading to see the fight.

One of the bikers held out his hand and stopped Dante where he was. "Did we say you could go?" he said as he held Dante in place.

"That is a really bad move on your part, buddy," Dante said with a smile.

"You better wipe that smile off your face or else..." the biker started to say but was interrupted with Dante's right fist connecting to the bikers face.

The biker flew across the room landing on a table where three other grizzly looking thugs sat. Beer, money, and cards flew everywhere as the biker hit the table. One of the thugs got up in anger and started swearing then just decided to say "fuck it," and threw a punch at one of the other thug at the table. Someone in the back yelled out "bar fight!" and as soon as those words were said the once rowdy bar had turned into a no holds bard bar brawl.

The bikers attacked Trish, Lady, and Dante while the other patrons started attacking everyone around them. Fists flew in every direction landing hits on guests who didn't have a choice but to take part in the fight. Bottles of booze soared across the room hitting walls, shattering glass and cheap booze on the floor. Patrons were thrown out windows and dumped over the railing of the top floor dropping onto groups of other men fighting.

As the bar patrons continued to fight each other Revy and Dutch decided it was best to leave before the cops showed up and started making arrests. Dutch hollered over to the other end of the bar where Benny and Rock were hunkered down at and made a hand gesture to the door.

"What the hell does that mean?" Rock shouted.

"He means were getting the fuck out of here," Benny replied shouting back.

Rock nodded and headed behind Benny. Revy and Dutch punched their way through the crowd hitting whoever was in their way. Lady bumped right into Revy as they were walking. The two exchanged brief words with each other.

"Wish you handled this better. I didn't want to fucking get into a fight tonight," Revy shouted.

"Don't blame me, you damn yokel locals have a way with greeting people," Lady replied.

"Who the hell are you calling a yokel you out of town trash?" Revy barked back.

"You want a piece bitch?" Lady said as she threw a punch right a Revy.

Revy ducked out of the way and watched the punch land right in the face of the previous knocked out biker. He spun around from the hit and lost his balances. Revy grabbed Lady's collar and tossed to her where Revy was standing. Revy took a stance and heaved a punch in Lady's direction. Lady stepped back and saw the punch just miss her. Revy took another step in and threw another. This time Lady grabbed the person behind her and threw them into the punch. The man spun around from the hit and fell to the floor revealing the previous knocked out biker. The two lost each other in the brawl as other patrons grew more angry and started to fire their weapons. As soon as the guns were drawn the brawl fighters scattered. Dutch grabbed Revy as Dante yanked Trish and Lady. They ran out the back door and in a hurry as the sirens of police could be heard down the street. Dante and Dutch brushed the liquor and glass off themselves and parted ways.

"You're lucky you stupid bitch, next time your ass is grass," Revy exclaimed as Dutch pushed her forward.

"You think I'm scared of you damn yokel? I'll make you wish you never met me," Lady threatened. Dante just ignored the two's argument and kept moving.

Dante and the group turned the corner and saw Patty and the informant waiting for them across the street. As the group crossed the street Trish bumped into a man in crossing. That man was Terak but Trish didn't sense anything within this man and excused herself. Terak immediately knew who the woman he bumped into was but didn't react because she didn't react. Terak finished crossing the street and watched Dante and the others talk to the odd man out in the group. They began walking in the direction where Terak first appeared. He smiled and turned back around to set his sights on what looked like the perfect place to open the gates for his army, Yellow Flag.

The police dragged out the bikers who started the brawl and begun to beat those who resisted. Terak weaved in and out of the crowd and civilians watching the ongoing scene. He walked up the steps and into the bar. Glass littered the floor along with left over money and bullet casings. He tapped on the bar and asked what had happen. Bao explained that is was a normal night for bar fights to happen. The bar had a few patrons left but there wasn't many.

"You going to order?" Bao asked.

"Yeah, let me get one of the oldest single malt liquor you got," Terak said.

Bao brought out the step stool and climbed up to the top shelf and brought down a dusty bottle of age rum and placed it gently on the table. He brushed off the dust and poured the man the glass.

"That'll $300" Bao said.

Terak tossed a stack of hundred dollar bills on the bar table. The wad of cash caught a group of men's eye.

"Keep the change," Terak said as he took the glass and bottle off the counter top and sat at a table by himself.

Bao bowed graciously and went back to work. The men who saw the money got up from their table and slyly walked over to where Terak was sitting and pulled up a few chairs surrounding him. One the men had a cowboy hat on and denim vest with his pistol showing. The men started to chat up Terak about what kind of business he had in Roanapur but Terak didn't respond. They continued to ask prying questions about what would make anyone reveal private information freely. Terak just sat back and drank his rum quietly. Finally, after the questions were done with the men started to get annoyed by the fact that Terak was ignoring them. As one came to put his hands on the Terak's suit jacket, he spoke.

"Care to make a friendly wager?" Terak asked.

The men laughed but agreed. "Sure, man what's the wager?" the man asked.

"It's simple if you can tell me how much a single a bottle of this rum would cost without asking the bartender or any one else in this bar, I'll give all the money I have on me," Terak said.

The man laughed even more and began to say the answer but was cut off by Terak. "If you lose though, it's you and your buddies life," Terak finished.

He was caught off guard by the other half of the wager. The man knew the exact amount of the bottle but tried to think of another way around the question trying to figure out if it was a trick question. As the man contemplated the question in the back of his mind, Terak brought out the black orb placed it on the middle of the table. The man said what he thought was the answer.

"$2000," he said with confidence.

"That is correct," Terak said with a smile.

The men got up and shouted hooray for themselves thinking they just hit the jackpot by not having to do a single job. The man put his hands on the table and leaned in and asked for the reward. Terak nodded gently and place a single dollar bill on the table and smiled. The man's excited smile went to a dead cold frown when he saw the dollar bill.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" He said starting to sound angry. "Where's the rest of the money?"

"I spent it all on this bottle of rum, this is what I had left over. Now take your winnings and leave me alone," Terak said firmly.

"Fine, I'll take my winnings but as Roanapur policy states that I should get anything else on the table too," the man responded as he placed his hand on the orb.

"I really wouldn't if I were you," Terak said.

The man didn't really care what Terak had to say after that so he shot him dead with a well placed bullet to the head. Terak fell back in his chair and onto the ground. Bao looked up and grabbed his shotgun underneath the counter and pointed at the men who walked away from the table.

"What the hell is going on?" Bao asked in a authoritative voice.

"Nothing, just the boy over there thought he could pull one over me but he was dead wrong," the man said as he tossed the black orb in the air and waited for it to land back in his hand.

Bao looked to where Terak was sitting but saw only a fallen over chair. "I don't see anyone," Bao said.

The man turned around and saw that Terak had just vanished. All of a sudden the lights in the bar started to flicker. The light bulbs sparked then shattered. Bao took cover under the bar.

"Hey man, it's raining outside," said one of the bar patrons out loud.

The building began to shake violently as if it was an earthquake. Bao made a break for the back door and left his bar in a hurry. The front doors rattled off its hinges and fell the ground. The ground started to crack beneath the men. The wood splintered and broke in half. Then the bar itself dropped a few feet into the ground then the shaking stopped. As the men got up from the floor and eerie sound could be heard. It was the sound of squeaky wood. The sound was all around them. The pulled their pistols and checked around the room but it was pitch black. One of them pulled out a small flashlight and shined it on the window. The entire block had gone pitch black.

"Point the flashlight inside fool," one of the men said.

The light illuminated parts of the room but showed only toppled over bar tables and stools.

"What the hell is that noise," the man said.

The noise of the squeaky wood was back and it was coming from right in front of them. The sound was starting to sound like dangling wood clapping together. Then the sound of tightening wire could be heard. The one with the flashlight shined the light on the ground in front of his friend. It showed a large wooden body wearing dark yet colorful clothing and itself. The light moved up and they saw it's face. It was just a generic face of what looked like a mannequin wearing jester like clothing. The bells on the hat dangled in front of its faced just a bit. The men didn't start getting scared until they pointed the light at it's hands and saw half circles that were turned into blades, large rusted metallic blades.

"Who left Pinocchio here?" the man said with a scared laugh. "Am I right?" he said calling out to his boys.

The mannequin moved forward a little bit and frightened the man. "What the fuck is this shit?" he said.

No one responded. The flashlight dropped to the floor and rolled towards the man tapping the back of his foot at the stop.

"Why'd you drop the flashlight, pick this shit up man," he said to them but there still wasn't answer.

He bent down slowly and picked up the flashlight and turned around and shined it on his friends. His friends were gone but only a pool of blood was left. The man started to whimper in fear a bit. In his reaction he pulled out his pistol and held it close to his flashlight. His palms were sweating like mad and it felt as if the pistol was going to slip out of his hand. He moved the flashlight up into the ceiling and saw the horrifying sight of his friends being cut limb from limb by the mannequins.

"Die you wooden piece of shit!" he screamed as he shot his pistol and the mannequins.

The mannequins flinched a bit as each bullet drilled itself into it's wooden bodies. As he ran out of ammo he started to reload but then stopped as he heard a evil cackle come from out of the darkness. He turned the flashlight to his back side and saw nothing. He turned it again to the other side of the room and saw the other patrons slaughtered. They were missing limbs and their blood had covered the entire other half of the bar. The cackle came closer and he spun around popping in another clip into his gun and fired at wherever the cackle came from. The laughter didn't stop until he ran out of ammo. A pain unlike anything he felt before rushed into his body. He screamed in pain and felt a sharp object pierce his back and push itself out of his stomach. The blade lifted him up into the air like a small animal being picked up by his owner. He held onto the blade and dropped his pistol and flashlight. There was a voice that came through the darkness; it was that of the man he shot.

"My marionettes are quite lethal but I felt that one of my own should have the pleasure of seeing you draw blood first," he said.

He heard the cackle again and this time it was right behind him. He could feel the hot breath of whatever was holding him up. The man he shot appeared before him and saw him floating with him.

"You and city have no idea what's in stored for you. Unfortunately you my friend won't be around to see it. Though I really do wish you could...stick around," Terak said as he dropped back to the ground. "Finish him off and open the gate," he ordered as he vanished from the bar.

The man felt the last sensation of the blade twisting in his stomach then a magnificent force threw him against the back of the building sticking him up on the wall like a poster. He then felt the blades became heated as if they were dipped into hot coals. The blades were blood from his body horizontally out his hips splitting him in half. Entrails and organs dropping to the floor first along with his legs. Blood gushed all over the walls and floor seeping into the cracks. The ground started shaking again furiously and the once bar named Yellow Flag fell into a giant sinkhole. Fire erupted from the sinkhole and several large pillars arose from the ground forming a square like perimeter. Then large metallic gates with giant skulls of creatures as door handles appeared from the smoke set by the fires. The people across the street watched in fear as they saw what could only be described as Armageddon. Terak appeared in front of the door and placed his hands in the air and pulled the gates apart. Intense heat blew out the gates opening melting the eyes of all who first witness the opening of this devilish gate. A loud roar was heard all throughout the city then there was silence. Terak smiled and turned his back to the gate.

"Tear them all apart men. Enslave those who you can. Feast!" Terak exclaimed as he pulled his hands up into the air then yanked them back down to his sides.

A few miles away at the scene where Terak first showed up. Dante and the group looked at the damage of the buildings.

"He's powerful Dante," Trish said.

"But I'm better," Dante replied.

"We need to find him before he opens the gates," Lady said.

As they discussed what to do next they saw in the distance a large explosion. They felt the intense heat blow right by them then they heard the roar. Dante withdrew Ebony and Ivory stylishly twirling them in his hands and striking a pose as he caught them.

"We're too late for that," Dante said as he looked out and could hear gunfire and screaming in the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

As the gates opened, the demons and creatures behind the gate poured out into the streets chasing and killing all the citizens. Those who had weapons put up slight resistant but did not fare well against what had arose from the depths of hell itself. Terak watched quietly from atop of a local building. The screams of horror and agony was the symphony of this opera. Blood sprayed out from torn limbs as creatures ripped apart limbs with their serrated teeth. A child, no more than six years old was tossed into the air like a baby seal being eating by orcas. The body ripped into two. Intestines splattered onto the floor while the bile exploded out of the stomach from heavy feet of the stampede of people running away crushed it. Terak smiled at the scene of death and turned away. He was greeted by a shadowy figure who bowed at his feet.

"Sire, great news befalls you as we have found the site of the temple," the shadow said.

"Excellent, take what men you have available and proceed to the temple. Eliminate all who oppose us. We shall have the temple risen in a few days," Terak ordered.

The shadow bowed his head and vanished into the night. Everything had hatched without interruption. His only concern now as to erect the temple and open the lock for his master to arise. He hoped that Sparda would be late to the party.

Meanwhile at the office of Lagoon Company. Revy sat in front of the television watching a program as it interrupted with a special bulletin from the local news station.

"Oh what the fuck? Just when it was getting good," Revy said displeased.

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an urgent announcement. We go live to ground zero to our reporter," the announcer said.

Revy watched the new reporter go on and tell about what had risen from the ground and what was happening. Revy called in the rest of the crew to look at what she was watching. Creatures leaped onto the fleeing civilians and dragged them into the ground kicking and screaming. The camera man and reporter ran from the creatures. The camera was shaking wildly about as the reporter ran for her life. They could hear the large gasps of air they taking breathing in and out as they ran for cover. The two finally turned the corner to hit a dead end.

"Move damn it, we have to get this shot," the reporter said as she motioned the camera man to climb the ladder to the roof.

The two climbed to the top of the roof where they were able to set up position for the take. "It is apparent that which we all debated about is now true, there is a hell. I've just witnessed first hand what looked to be creatures from beneath the ground started attacking the citizens of Roanapur," she announced. "We urge all of you to stay inside your homes and lock all the doors and windows. The police of Roanapur are already issuing a city wide lock down. We have heard that Chief Watsup has already called in ahead for Chinese Military assistance," she finished.

The camera man peered the camera over the edge of building and watched helplessly as people died. The reporter screamed in sheer pain as what appeared to be a talon tore into her shoulder and started lifting her into the air. The camera man spun around and witness his colleague get lifted into the by a winged beast of a women who screeched in at the night sky. The camera man dropped his camera and lunged out to grab her hand. The harpy screeched again as the added weight dragged her down. It looked in fear at the camera man and let go of the reporter quickly and flew away. The two fell to the ground in front of the camera landing on their backs. The reporter hugged her savior and thanked him. She grabbed the camera with her good arm and handed it back to him. The reporter then realized why the harpy let her go. The camera looked onto what seemed to be a large grotesquely looking lizard like creature eyeing the two for food. The reporter turned tail and ran the opposite direction from the camera man. The camera man turned around as saw his last moments of a behemoth like creature open its mouth and bit down on his left side of his body pulling him into the air. The man screamed anguish as the serrated teeth tore into is soft flesh. The camera dropped back to the ground pointed up at the creature and it's former handler get eaten in two bites. The creature climbed back down the building, it's tail flicking the tiny camera in the direction of runaway reporter who was picked back up in mid stride as the same harpy returned for her meal dragging the reporter off back into the air. The camera cut to the night sky as it lost focus of reporter.

The crew watched in terror what had just happened. Clueless on what to do the only thing they could think of was leaving Roanapur. Revy ran to her room and started packing up what little she had as did Dutch and Benny. Rocked followed Revy and helped out a bit.

"We're going to run?" Rocked questioned.

"You're damn right we're going to run," she replied. "I'm all for a fight but when creatures from only what I can think of in my nightmares come to exist then that means it's time to get the fuck outta' here," she said stuffing the clothes into a small bag.

Revy quickly opened her closet and pulled out what weapons she had. She piled numerous guns into a large duffle bag and ordered Rock to load what he could. Rock dropped the guns on the ground and ran to Dutch's room. Revy quickly yelled at him as he ran out of the room.

He saw Dutch packing as well. "So we're just going to leave?" Rock asked. "There could be people that may need help," he stated.

"Look Rock, this is something beyond even my control. The best option is to run. You can stay and help out those who want help. You've been always the kind to help others in need even when your life was in trouble too. Here's a chance to do something, so either you can do it or run like us. Ever hear the term "live to fight another day"?" Dutch asked.

"Yes, but we haven't even lifted a finger," Rock answered.

"True, but if we stayed and fought and died we wouldn't be able to say fight another day. So we are going to live to do just that," Dutch said as he finished packing a bag. He threw it at the hall wall and finished packing his stuff.

Rock finally went to Benny's room who was disconnecting his electrical equipment. "Don't bother with that shit Benny, it's not going to fit inside the car," Dutch called out.

"Damn it!" Benny swore "Look Rock, I know that you have that urge in you to stay and help. That quality is what I like best about but when you know you're facing a fight you can't win ahead of time then it's best to take a breath and choose the other option," Benny said.

"What about Hotel Moscow?" Rock asked.

"What about them?" Benny replied

"They're most likely going to fight and I don't see them running," Rock said.

"They're former Military, they won't give up without a fight. We on the other hand are not. Simple fact buddy," Benny responded.

Rock sighed and went to his room to start packing like the others were. As he reached his room the cities powered turned off. The entire city went black just then. Dutch pulled out his flashlight and asked everyone if they were ok. They all responded and just then the office building shook from a large explosion a few blocks away from them. Dutch moved to the window and gazed out at the large mushroom cloud filter into the air. The local gas station was just destroyed by something.

"Time to leave everyone," Dutch ordered.

"I'm not finished packing," Rock said.

"Too damn bad, this isn't something negotiable. We leave in 30 seconds," Dutch commanded.

The crew hauled their bags over their shoulders and moved down the stairs in a rush. They tossed their junk in the back and in the trunk and piled into the car. Dutch started the car and waited for Rock. Rock came running out the but fell on his face as he slipped nearing the door. His briefcase and laptop slid out in front of him smacking into something. He got up and brushed himself off and started to feel around for his belongings in the dark. An eerie sound of squeaking wood came from within the living room. Rock's heart dramatically increased by the mysterious sound. The sound of tightening wire was heard right after the wood. The sound moved closer to Rock. Rock ran for Revy's room and slammed the door. The threw the cot against the door to brace it from anything entering the room. Two large slams hit the door making two large thuds. Rock frantically looked for a way out and saw the small window. The quickly broke the window and looked outside where the car was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh god they left me," Rock said worriedly. A large sound of metal rolling came down from the road. The car tumbled on it's side in five large rolls finally sliding on it's hood to a complete stop. "Revy!" he shouted at the car. The car exploded into flames as the gas that leaked out ignited with sparks from the engine. The explosion threw Rock from the window back to the bedroom door smashing through the braced door. Rock lied on the broken pieces of wood wondering what it was like to going to die. From down the he looked down the dark hallway and heard more footsteps enter the room. This was it, the moment of death. He stood up and stared death right in the eye and waited for the final blow. Only there was no blow just several muzzle flashes of two pistols going off and the sound of the zipping bullets passing his body.

"Shit Rock I almost fucking hit you," Revy said as she approached him.

Rock sighed with relief to know Revy came to his rescue yet again. He quickly embraced her for the help he received but she pushed him away in an uncomfortable and slightly awkward moment.

"Ease up off me Rock, damn. You weren't planning on dying were you?" Revy asked.

"For a minute I thought I was," Rock said.

"Man, you seriously need to learn how to use a gun," Revy responded and told him to follow her.

The two ran back out the front door leaping over the freakishly looking wooden mannequins. Rock snagged his laptop as they headed out the door. The two ran downstairs and met up with Dutch and Benny and a few others from the office building. A few of the neighbors were with them held up at the hallway facing the parking lot.

"Look who I found," Revy said. "He was being a man and facing his enemy head on" Revy stated.

"Here Rock take this," Dutch handed him a Colt .45. "It has a bit of kick so watch out," he said.

"I'm not comfortable with this," Rock said.

"Too bad," Dutch said. Dutch wasn't interested in Rock's issue with guns. All he knew was that there would be a moment where Revy won't be there to protect him and he had to learn to shoot right then and there.

"I thought you guys were dead," Rock said in a slightly happy and relieved voice.

"Yeah, we would've been but since you were so slow in getting to us we managed to not die," Benny said smiling.

"Will you two lower your fucking voices" Dutch ordered in a loud whisper. "We've got company," he said.

Dutch took a look around the corner and saw a handful of marionettes lurking in the parking lot finishing off those who were escaping. A large hooded figure was commanding the marionettes. It floated slightly about the ground and had the skull of a goat with some twisted horns. It held a pair of large rusty yet extremely sharp oversized scissors. It looked like it was a cross between scissors and a scythe.

"Here's what were going to do. We're going to let you guys get their attention and lead them into this hallway where we will funnel them into this tight space where we shall obliterate them," Dutch ordered.

The neighbors nodded their heads as did the crew and agreed to do what was ordered. Quickly the neighbors ran out of the hallway and into the parking lot shooting at the marionettes trying to get their attention. The marionettes took the hits but didn't move from their position.

"It's not working" one of the neighbors yelled out to Dutch.

Dutch didn't realize why it wasn't working. The neighbors there were once shooting were now cut in half by the second shade that had appeared. In one swoop of the scythe their hands were cut off their arms guns still firing. They cried in pain as blood squirted out of the nubs. The once lifeless marionettes now leaped into the air in a sloppy motion and encircled the group thus beginning to hack and slash them apart. The arms of the marionettes moved sloppily but so ever so gracefully as they tore apart Dutch's neighbors.

"What's the plan Dutch" Revy asked.

"Let's do what we do best," Dutch said with a smile.

Revy grinned as well and took out her cutlasses. The two ran out into the parking and went back to back and opened fire on the marionettes and shades. Benny and Rock watched as what they saw was a bullet ballet. Dutch and Revy were like two gods of mayhem who decided to unleash their fury right then and there. Revy back flipped and tumbled in different directions avoiding the blades of the marionettes. Dutch's moves were quick and precise that the marionettes stood no chance but the two shades on the other proved to be extremely intelligent.

The shades encircled them floating around them like two sharks ready to eat. The shade took a swipe at Revy but she managed to back away as it missed here face by mere centimeters. Dutch fired off a few shells from his magnum but they didn't even harm the shade. Dutch rolled over Revy's back and grabbed her arms as he landed launching her into the air. As she took flight the shade with scythe went after her. The cackling shade swiped his scythe at her legs cutting her thigh. Revy screeched in pain as she fell to the ground. Her cutlasses landed away from where she fell. She crawled to her cutlasses but the shade wasn't taking any chances and descended upon her quickly, scythe drawn about to puncture her back when the least likely to step in did just that. Rock ran out into the parking lot opening fire on the shades back. The last shot of the clipped the back of its skull. The shade cackled a bit then hit Rock with the back of the scythe and sent him flying 15 feet away from him smacking into a brick wall. Rock was down for the count. The shade returned the Revy but saw her holding her cutlasses pointed straight at it's head. Pulling the triggers she let loose both clips of the cutlasses. Shells flew out of the chamber and clambered onto the ground. The bullets shredded the shades skull into tiny skeletal chips. The shade dropped his scythe and fizzled away into smoke.

"Aim for the head Dutch" Revy shouted.

Dutch fired his last rounds at the head of the shade but once again the bullets just went right through it. Dutch holstered his pistol and rolled out of the way of the incoming hit by the scissors. The shade flew into the air and hovered 20 feet about the ground staring right a Dutch. It pulled apart it's scissors and used it as two very large blades. It cackled as it knew it gained the advantage. Dutch looked and the scythe lying behind him and made a run for it. The shade quickly pursued Dutch. It threw one of the blades in front of him which made him stumble a bit but he twirled out of the way of the blocking blade and dove for the fallen scythe. The shade swung the last blade at Dutch's back but missed. It lifted back up into the sky with it's back away from Dutch. Dutch made one small front flip as to get the scythe. His hands landed on the scythe and as his body flew forward to the ground he flung the scythe directly at shade. The shade turned around to Dutch only to see the incoming scythe collide blade first into the middle of it's skull. A loud cackle screeched as it hit it's skull then fizzled into the blackened night sky.

Benny rushed to Dutch as Revy crawled her way to Rock. "That was amazing Dutch. You were like in the air. I never seen you do a front flip before," Benny said sounding excited.

"And for good reason too, I think I threw out my back," Dutch said with a gentle laugh. "Just let me lie here for a bit, I think we're safe for the moment," Dutch stated.

Benny got over to Revy and helped her up. She threw her arm around his shoulder and limped to where Rock was lying. He was hunched over with brick debris around his back.

"Oh my god Rock say something," Revy said as she came to his aid.

Rock was unconscious and had no signs of waking up. Benny checked if he was breathing which he was and reassured Revy that Rock would be fine. Benny left Revy with Rock and went out to the street where people fleeing. He saw an incoming police car followed by others right behind him. He flagged down the police car. It braked hard and skidded a bit then came to a halt. Chief Watsup got out of the car and was surprised to see Benny.

"Chief, the crew is hurt can you lend some aid?" Benny asked.

"Fuck, who's hurt?' Watsup asked.

"All three and they need some medical attention," Benny said.

"The hospital is all full Benny. The only place I can suggest is Hotel Moscow. They are in the middle of it right now but putting up a good fight. I know they have a doctor with them. A few of the other gangs have joined them too. Go there and see if they can help," Watsup said as he flagged down a small truck.

Watsup got the driver out and gave the keys to Benny. "Good luck Benny," Watsup said as he and the truck driver got into the car and drove off further down the road where all of the other police were headed.

"Fucking hell," Benny said.

Benny managed to drag Dutch to the truck and hoisted him onto the back. He went back and got Rock and Revy and helped them into the back seat of the truck. Revy wrapped a large cloth around her wound and tied it tight.

"Where we going?" Revy asked.

"Hotel Moscow. Watsup said they were hold out at their building and we can seek some type of medical attention there," Benny said.

"What a fucking shot in the dark this is going to be," Revy said.

"Yeah, you better believe it is," Benny replied as he stepped on the gas and made his way further into the war zone.

As Benny took the others to Hotel Moscow in hopes for some medical aid, Dante and the gang made their way to where the gate was.

"Things are getting worse," Trish said.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd see the day," Lady replied.

Dante just stood in place looking out into distance where the carnage had started. Dante pulled out Alastor and gently put on the blade over his shoulder and began tapping it. Dante had to figure out a plan in how to stop what was happening but nothing was coming to mind.

"I'm going to head that way," he said pointing on the edge of the city. "Why don't the three of you figure out what happened to the man that touched the orb," Dante finished as he walked towards the edge of building.

"Be careful Dante," Patty said.

Dante turned his head and winked at Patty then dove off the ledge of the building. He ran down the front of the building quickly holstering Alastor and pulling out Ebony and Ivory. He hit the ground running and opening fire into the fray of enemies which lied before him.


	4. Chapter 4

Dante took a running start from the office building and leaped out of the broken glass. His body soared across the street and landed on top of the roof across from where Trish and everyone else was standing. From building to building he moved covering ground quickly. Dante pulled Alastor out then chopped down several Marionettes that were in his way. It didn't take long for Dante to reach a building that overlooked the hellish gate. Bodies were strewn out over a hundred yards. Bodies disemboweled and limbs lying everywhere. A strong scent of iron filled the air. As Dante looked out onto the scene of misery an old foe was watching him from the shadows.

"My oh my, it's been awhile Dante," he said to himself.

Getting ready to pounce on the unsuspecting demon hunter a message was received from his superiors. "Phantom! Report to Terak immediately!" the demonic voice ordered.

"I understand my master," Phantom responded. "Soon Dante, very soon," Phantom said as his large volcanic body sank into the earth.

Dante jumped down from the building and went to work on the minor demons that were still feasting on the corpses. Alastor cut through the flesh of demons like a heated blade through butter. Their bodies split open erupting blood from wounds. The other demons noticed what was happening and went after Dante. Dante flung Alastor toward a herd of demons. It pierced several of them and pinned them against a wall. Their loud screeching of pain alerted more demons to Dante's position. Soon Marionettes and Sin's entered skirmish. Dante kept dishing out the pain, he was just getting warmed up. Punches after round houses his martial arts skills were dominating. Demons fly into the air and crashed into buildings causing more and more destruction.

"You guys are too easy! Is that all you have?" Dante shouted with a smile.

After 20 minutes of fighting Dante was getting bored. He knew what he had to get back to finding the demon that opened the gate. The key to closing the gate was finding the one who opened it. As he pondered where he should go next, demons began encircling him.

"Time to end this," he said as he targeted Alastor.

Grappling one of the Marionettes and shoving into the crowded demons he made himself a path to his sword. He pulled the sword from the wall and ran up the crumbling building. Leaping into the he flung Alastor into the dark clouds. Thunder roared in the sky and lightning struck the earth around him. As he fell to the ground with great force he pulled Ebony and Ivory out and unloaded everything he had on to the demons. A devilish display of pistol prowess and aerial acrobatics the guns were empty within seconds. The demons that weren't hit charged Dante; he smiled with delight. Alastor shot down out of the sky within a bolt of lightning landing handle first in Dante's hand. He slammed the sword into the ground, and in that instant a large wave of lightning exploded in all directions from Dante's body and sword. The charging demons flew back hundreds of feet and others were incinerated instantly. He sheathed Alastor back on his back and looked up and saw the devastation. It had gone quiet and the once horrible scene was now a charred battlefield.

"Thanks for the warm up guys," he said as he took off in the direction he felt was the right way.

As Dante left the scene Terak watched patiently from above in the sky.

"Impressive Dante, your tricks may work on the lesser ones but you will need a lot more when we meet," Terak said applauding the work of Sparda.

Dante moved strolled down the deserted street trying to find someone who wasn't dead to get some information but he wasn't having any luck. Each street he came up to there were pieces of bodies lying everywhere. There were some carcasses of lesser demons and bullet casings lying around the body. _"At least the city is fighting back," _Dante said to himself. 2 miles and 40 minutes later he decided to stop at one of the noodle shops that was still open.

"Help me!" a man's voiced screamed from inside the shop.

Dante poked his head in and saw two Marionettes forcing their way into the back room. He sighed at the sight and walked in.

"Really guys? You're wasting your time on him. Why don't you take on more of a challenge?" Dante taunted.

One of the Marionettes turned to down and started lurching towards him. The wooden doll stood at least 2 feet taller than Dante was looking down at him. In an instant one of the blades was shoved into Dante's collar bone. Dante just looked at the Marionette and smiled.

"My turn," he said calmly with a smile.

He punched right through the Marionettes wooden stomach with Ebony and unloaded a few rounds into the Marionette by the storage room door. The bullets blasted the Marionette through the shops wall and into the alley on the other side. Dante then grabbed the blade that was in his collar with his other arm and ripped off the Marionette's arm. He pulled up his leg and thrust kicked the doll off his arm. The doll collapsed to the floor as if the strings that were holding it up were all cut simultaneously. He holstered Ebony and kicked the wooden doll out the hole in the wall where the other doll was.

Dante walked over to the storage door and knocked lightly. "You can come out now, they're gone," he said as he walked to one of the bar stools that wasn't broken. The shop keeper came out and looked around and saw Dante sitting down. The shop keeper saw the damage to his place and shook his head with a disappointed look.

"What's wrong" Dante asked.

"I highly doubt my insurance will believe what happened here," he said.

"Yeah, but I can say that's going to be the least of your worries. Say, can I get a bowl of noodles with some chicken?" Dante asked.

"Now?" the shopped asked sounding surprised.

"Yeah, well I haven't really eaten since I got here and I did work up an appetite a few miles back, so yeah, now would be great," Dante replied.

"Uh...yeah ok," the shop keeper answered.

The shop keeper dusted off his apron and went behind the counter and turned on the a pot of water. As he was making the noodles he noticed Dante's gash on his collar and reached over the counter quickly trying to cover the wound. Dante grabbed the keepers arm in a blink of an eye and pinned it to the counter.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dante asked.

"I'm trying to help you. That wound looks to be bleeding a lot," he said with a scared tone.

"Oh...don't worry about," he said as he released the keepers arm.

"What do you mean don't worry about it? That thing needs to be patched up or else..." the keeper was stopped mid sentence as Dante pulled his jacked away from his neck and showed himself heal up just like a new. The keeper's mouth dropped open and stuttered for a moment.

"Wha...Wha...Wha...What are you?" he stuttered.

"Complicated," Dante answered.

Dante cleared his throat and snapped the keeper out of his fright. The keeper shook his head and went back to making the noodles. Minutes passed the once stale air had filled up with a flavorful aroma of noodles with braised chicken. The keeper poured the noodles into a large bowl and then covered the noodles with chicken and some steamed vegetables. He placed it in front of Dante with some chop sticks and backed away. Dante went to town on the bowl of noodles not taking him long to finish the whole bowl. He placed the bowl back on the counter asking for seconds. As the keeper poured him another bowl and another man entered the restaurant. Dante pulled Ivory out and pointed at the man not bothering to look at who it was while he still ate with his other hand.

"Easy friend, I was just hoping to get a bowl of those noodles. I could smell it a mile away," the man said.

Dante holstered Ivory slowly and went back to eating. The man sat down on one of the stools across from Dante. "It's ok guys, you can come on in," the man said to his buddies waiting outside. As the men entered and sat at the tables, Dante briefly looked up and saw the men coming in. They were looking extremely banged up but nothing too serious. As Dante finished his second bowl he asked for one with beef this time. The keeper nodded and went to work.

As Dante waited patiently, the man next to him leaned back and looked at Dante, then looked at the hole in the wall, then back at Dante.

"Pretty impressive," he said.

"Not really, the lesser ones only know the order to kill by any means. Not much on thinking for them," Dante said.

"Still, those fuckers took out a good group of my men until we started using armor piercing rounds," the man said.

"Keep using those and you'll be fine. It's the other ones you have to watch out for, the shades require you to use something else," Dante replied as he turned to the guy.

Dante looked him over and noticed he wasn't that different from himself. Dual wielding pistols, a brown trench coat, the only difference was the glasses and shade of hair color; that and being part demon too.

"Here is your bowl Mr. Chang," the keeper said.

As Dante finished his second bowl he turned to the man and begun asking him about what was going before the demons were appearing.

"As far as I'm aware of it was a normal day in Roanapur. Nothing too out of the ordinary. You know you should ask Balalaika, she might know something," Chang said.

"Who's Balalaika?" Dante inquired.

"She's the head of the Russian Mafia here. If there was anything in particular that went down before all hell broke loose then she'll know," Chang responded.

"Where can I find her?" Dante asked.

"Well were headed that way now to regroup at her building. We can take you to her," Chang offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I work better on my own. So why don't you just tell me where her building is at and I can be on my way?" Dante said.

"Hmm...you remind a lot of a female I know. Well in that case just head right into the middle of downtown. She has the largest building down there, and if that doesn't help then you'll notice her building with all the destruction around it," Chang said as he finished up bowl of soup.

"Appreciate it," Dante said walking out the door. He took a running start down the street and sprung from the ground onto a building. He climbed up to the rooftops and started making his way downtown.

Chang motioned to his men that he was ready. They moved outside and got back into their trucks. Chang got on the radio and notified Balalaika that she was going to have a visitor headed her way.

[Meanwhile downtown]

An intense battle between the Russian Mob Coalition against the hordes of demons that were emerging from the ground. Terak watched the battle from the sky and ordered his army to bring out the big guns. As he gave the ordered a messenger appeared before him.

"What do you want?" Terak asked in a firm tone of voice

"You have a visitor sir," the messenger said cautiously. "He waits for you down below in the alley," he said.

"Fine," Terak said. He vanished before the eyes of the messenger to the alley below.

A foul stench of sulfur filled the air and the intense heat of a volcano was felt all around him. The heat became hotter and ground began to shake. A giant sink gave way enveloping the two buildings between the alley. Terak floated above the sink hole patiently. From the sink hole Phantom emerged. Now the size of half a football field his legs pushed his volcanic rock encrusted body up out of the sink hole.

"What could you possibly want Phantom?" Terak asked as if he was annoyed by his presence.

"Is that anyway to treat a long time friend?" Phantom bellowed.

"I don't have time for you games, as you can see I'm waging a battle between these pathetic humans; so if you don't mind, OUT WITH IT!" He yelled.

"My master and your master felt it would be best for me and several others to help you subdue these humans and keep an eye on you. They have their suspicions that since you've gained more power you won't follow through with your orders," Phantom said.

"My orders are clear, I know what I need to do" Terak replied.

"It seems as if the problem with these humans are becoming a bit of a hassle for your army," Phantom commented.

"Nonsense, I have them right where I wanted." Terak said as he watched the human coalition wipe out the rest of his Marionettes.

Hundreds of Roanapur citizens were cheering as they stood tall in front of the fallen demons. Terak grew tired of the little games. Thinking that the citizens weren't going to pose a real threat to his plans he decided to pull out the big guns on handling them. From the sky he chanted out a few phrases and then waited. Dark thunderous clouds came rolling in and lightning began to strike all over the ground setting ablaze anything that was flammable. As quick as the lightning began it had stopped. Loud cackling was heard from in every direction. The coalition readied their weapons and held fast waiting for another attack. The cackling stopped quickly and out from the sky dropped a shadowy figure. It had a dark purple and black leather jacket on, it's hair was spiked, and it was packing one very large hellish sword. As the sword was pulled from it's back several cat like creatures arose from the ground. These fiendish shadow cats were the same color as the shadowy figure. The figure held out it's sword towards the coalition of people and issued the order to attack.

The figure charged into the coalition and full speed and began hacking and slashing away at anyone who stood his way. coalition threw everything they had at the figure but the bullets were not doing any bit of damage. Blood sprayed everywhere and limbs dropped quickly as the figures blade cleaved anyone's and everyone's boney limbs that stood in his way. The shadows pounced on the men that stood on the terraces on the building devouring them brutally. Their screams could be heard in all directions.

"Fall back inside!" a female's voice ordered.

Terak looked at where the voice came from and saw the leader of the coalition. It was none other Balalaika of course. Her and her army of men were holding their ground in the lobby covering the retreat of the escaping coalition forces. Terak then ordered the death scythes to move in and take out the leader. The reaper like figures appeared out of the walls and moved in quickly towards Balalaika's group. Their demonic scythes and scissors ripped through the first set of guards that stood in their way. Their bodies were cut vertically and horizontally in half, entrails dropping to the floor in large pools of blood that dispersed from their bodies. The escaping forces headed up through the stair well while Balalaika and her men took the express elevator to her office.

"Ma'am we've got enemies on all floors, we can't stop these reaper things. They continue to move in and out of the walls," One of the guardsmen said.

"Start using armor piercing rounds and grenades. That should take care of them from escaping into the walls," Balalaika ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" the guardsmen acknowledged.

As Balalaika entered her office she ordered Boris to get on the radio and hail the army and find out how long would it be until the forces moved into Roanapur. As Boris got on that ordered she entered her office and started loading up on stronger small arms. The window behind her blew open shooting glass all over the room. She spun around firing a G3 assault rifle at whatever was coming through the window. The bullets pierced the figures body and dropped it to it's knees. As she reloaded another clip into the rifle the figure took that moment to strike. It's blade came up in a upward slash motion slicing right into her chest. The tremendous force through Balalaika through the office wall and into the hallway where laid several dead soldiers body being eaten by the shadows. The figure grinned and moved slowly towards her body twirling his sword. She clenched her chest trying to hold the wound close. The figure raised the sword above it's head and forced the sword down into Balalaika's body. She screamed in agony as the sword entered her gut and twisted inside. Boris knocked down the office doors and saw the shadowy figure standing above her twisting the sword within her. Enraged her grabbed Balalaika's elephant gun and unloaded one shot into the figures body. The force from the gun knocked Boris back as he hip fired. The bullet penetrated the figures side abdomen. The sword ripped out of Balalaika and the figure collapsed to the ground.

Boris rushed over to Balalaika and placed his hands over the gaping wound, but it was too late. Blood gushed out of the wound quickly. He grabbed her and lifted her up and brought her into the office and lied her on the office table. The shadows growled as the approached Boris from behind. They got ready in the pouncing position and leaped at Boris. Boris hunched over Balalaika's body to protect her. Two loud gunshots were heard as Boris held Balalaika's body. Two bullets dropped both cats instantly. Their carcasses hit Boris's body and fell to the floor. Boris looked up and saw standing on the terrace Dante dual wielding Ebony and Ivory. Dante holstered the his guns and walked over to Boris.

"Where's Balalaika?" He asked

Boris just looked down at her body. Dante looked at the now dead body of Balalaika.

"Fuck," Dante said as those being the only words he could think of at the moment.

Boris closed Balalaika's eyes and went back to the office lobby and got on the radio and issued the order White Death. All men on all floors began rushing towards the stairwell that went up.

"What's White Death?" Dante asked.

"In case of this buildings down fall and Balalaika's death this building is to be destroyed in one full swoop. In short after we leave this building and any other building within three blocks will be wiped out," Boris said as he started packing up whatever supplies he could find.

"I need information," Dante said as he grabbed Boris's arm.

"Information will have to wait. This will go faster if her cleaned up whatever enemies are preventing certain men from escaping," Boris said.

"Fine, if I do this for you will you give me the information I'm looking for?" Dante asked.

"If you do this, then me and my men will do anything in our power to help you," Boris replied.

Dante agreed.

Boris armed the bomb within the building for a 1 hour time limit.

"A chopper will be waiting at the top of this building for you and whoever you can rescue. Take the chopper to the destination and we'll talk," Boris said.

Dante headed downstairs to where the first group was located. As Dante cleared out the areas of enemies and began rescuing the soldiers, Terak and Phantom were situated outside the building.

"Once we clear this building we can began excavating the gate. It shouldn't take no longer than a day or two to dig it out. This is of course if you and your lackeys can handle military," Terak said.

"These humans are pathetic as is their military power. We already have a trap waiting for them," Phantom replied.

"You underestimate the enemy Phantom. You will see your demise if you continue to do so," Terak commented.

"Don't worry about me, just open the gate for our master," Phantom said. "I got word from one of my messengers that Dante's within the building. I think I shall go pay him a visit," Phantom stated.

The voice from Terak's mind disappeared. Terak smiled and knew Phantom wasn't going to last long against Dante.

As Dante finished rounding up the last bit of men that were stuck in the underground car garage he felt someone familiar near by. Immense heat began building up in the concrete garage. A loud grunt followed by a slash by Phantom's leg surprised Dante. He rolled out of the way and turned around. Phantom appeared out from the darkness and greeted Dante.

"Still quick on your feet Dante," Phantom said.

"Still slow and dumb I see," Dante retorted.

"You're helping these pathetic humans? How very human of you," Phantom commented.

"Only to help myself. You wouldn't happen to know where I can find this man by the name of Terak would you?" Dante asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact I can. You see I was just talking to him," Phantom mentioned.

This peaked Dante's interest. "Why don't you tell me where he is and I send you and him back to where you belong," Dante offered.

"You think you can defeat me you half breed scum. I've become a lot more stronger since our last encounter," Phantom said as he stretched his 8 legged volcanic body.

"Oh yeah? We shall see about that," Dante replied as he threw on the Ifrit gauntlets.

Phantom charged Dante quickly. Dante double air jumped out of the way. Phantom turned his body and smacked Dante with one of the front legs throwing him into one of the concrete pillars. Dante pushed himself up and side rolled out of the way of the next attack. As Phantom continued his onslaught of hits Dante just waited for an opportunity to strike. Phantom charged Dante again. Dante ran towards a pillar then ran up the pillar. He vaulted himself off the pillar and elbow dropped Phantom right on the head. The hit stunned Phantom briefly. This was the time for Dante to let loose. Dante opened up Phantom with a meteor hail storm of punches in his face. This knocked back Phantom, but Dante made sure he was still in close enough to land his punches. He followed the meteor punches with a forceful magma drive right into the lower jaw of Phantom which sent up into the air. Dante unequipped the gauntlets and pulled out The Force Edge and ignited his devil trigger and shoved Sparda right into Phantom lower stomach piercing him to the ceiling. Phantom moaned in agony. Dante slammed Phantom down to the ground and kicked the spiders body off Sparda. As he sheathed Sparda and left Phantom urged Dante to stay and listen to what he had to say.

"You're going to want to hear this Dante, it's about Terak's location," Phantom said.

"What do you have to say?" Dante asked.

As Phantom began speaking Terak appeared in front of Phantom.

"I never liked your kind," Terak said as he pulled out his serrated katana and split Phantom in half with a downward slash.

Wiping off his blade he turned to Dante and smiled. "Another time Dante," he said as he quickly vanished into thin air laughing maniacally. Dante now saw the power of Terak and started to begin to understand what he was going up against. Dante rushed out of the underground garage and up to the roof where a chopper was waiting. Dante hopped into the chopper and took a seat in the back where the rest of rescued soldiers were.

"Where are we headed?" Dante asked.

"A safe zone, a church," one of the soldiers replied.

Dante nodded and got up from the seat. He looked out the window and saw down below the main building blowing up. A large dark mushroom cloud arose from the explosion. The sun was rising off in the distance and the haze from battle had begun to lift. He saw Terak down below on the streets looking up at the chopper as it moved away across to the other side of the island. Dante only hoped that at this church he could find the answers to stop Terak.

End of Chapter 4


End file.
